Masquerade
by ZoneRobotnik
Summary: Mihael Keehl is being taken to an orphanage to live. When he gets there, though, his name is changed and he is told to put on a strange, white mask and to never remove it. But, what happens if he does? And why does everyone have the same mask?


Okay, before you guys start bitch at me because I'm starting yet ANOTHER fanfic, when I have so many unfinished ones, I just thought I would say this: I am not deserting my other fanfics, this idea was just too good to not show you guys. And I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks for putting up with me, and enjoy the story.

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Chapter One: Masks

_Masquerade! _

_Paper faces on parade._

_Masquerade! _

_Hide your face, so the world will never find you… _

'This is where I'm going to live now?' A blonde boy dressed in blank jeans, black boots, a white shirt and a black, closed jacket over it thought as he fingered a Catholic rosary around his neck. His eyes, a piercing, blue color, reflected in the window as he gazed upon a large building that looked like it was converted from a Catholic church – it even still had the cross on the top of it. His gaze shifted from the building to the yard, where he saw lots of kids sitting around reading books of playing games in the lawn.

What bothered him the most, though, was that none of them were facing him. He couldn't see if there were any cute girls here or not. The car came to a pause and then they drove into a gate that was opening. He looked out the back window to see it closing behind them, two men standing next to the gate while a third locked it up, securing the steel gate – as well as the boy's fate.

"Mihael, you remember that I told you that you would be getting a new name here, correct?" The man in the front, "Watari" he was called, said to the boy.

Mihael, the blonde-haired boy, looked at Watari. "Uhm…yeah. I haven't thought of any, though."

Watari frowned and then parked before he rummaged into a bag. Then he tossed a cloth at Mihael. "Pull this over your head. Don't remove it until I say you can."

"O…kay." Mihael pulled the cloth over his head and then slowly followed the old man out of the car. He felt eyes on him, but when he looked over, no one was looking his way. He shrugged it off and followed the man inside.

"Roger." Watari led Mihael to an office, where an old man was sitting behind a desk. "I've brought the child I went to get."

"I see." The old man behind the desk looked at Mihael. "…He's been living in a church, judging by his attire." He remarked.

Mihael shifted a bit. "Yeah, Sister Margarita took good care of me."

"Fascinating." The old man said, his tone showing that he didn't really care. "Your name?"

"Mihael Keehl, sir." Mihael blinked.

"No, no. Your NEW name, boy." Roger said, rolling his eyes a bit.

"O-Oh. I haven't decided on one yet, sir." Mihael said softly.

"You're a little timid, aren't you?" The old man remarked. "How about 'Mellow'?"

Mihael frowned. "How is that spelled?"

"M-E-L-L-O-W." Roger spelled out.

"Cut out the 'W' and I'm fine with it." Mihael grinned.

"Good, you're 'Mello', then." He reached into the desk and pulled out a plain, white mask, which had very little distinguishing features and wasn't very attractive, either. Then he wrote "Mello" on the inside of it and handed it to him. "Put it on."

"But—"

"Do it." Roger said sharply.

Intimidated by his tone, Mihael obeyed and started to pull the cloth off.

"Wait." Roger said sharply. "Go behind that curtain and do it." He pointed to a curtain set up in the room.

"O…kay?" Mihael turned and went behind it, pulling off the cloth. Then he looked at the mask in his hand and slowly pulled it on, the strap clearly visible. He didn't like the way he looked when he looked at the mirror. 'I can barely see my eyes…' He thought. 'And it covers everything but my mouth…' He sighed and stepped out, walking over to the old men again. "Alright, I'm wearing it."

Watari looked at Roger and then walked over to Mihael, pulling his hair out of the brain it was in and then he started to shift his hair around, until the strap of the mask was impossible to see. A little bit of shifting of Mello's bangs and it looked like the mask was really a part of him. Then he stepped back and looked at Roger.

Roger nodded and then handed Mihael a folder. "There is your schedule, house-rules, and your room-key. Come to me or Watari if you have any questions."

"Okay." Mihael nodded and held the folder close. "Uhm…this mask…"

"You are to never remove it, understand? The other children here cannot see your face, for that will be showing them who you are. That is forbidden here." Roger said sternly. "Keep your hands off of it, understand? You're dismissed." He went back to what he was doing when they entered.

Mihael blinked and stepped back, turning to leave the room. As he walked, he opened the folder and frowned. "B13. Where the heck is B12?!" He sighed and looked at the room-key. "Should I just follow the signs on the doors?" He looked at them. "A36…A35…" He started walking on. "A34…A33…A32…A31…A30…"

"You're new."

"A29—huh?!" Mihael blinked and looked up, and had to look again to realize he wasn't looking at a statue. The person was decked head-to-toe in white, pure white, and he wore the same mask Mihael did. His eyes, what Mihael could see of them, appeared to be dark-gray; unless that was just the shadows of the mask… - and his hair was short and extremely curly, while his skin was porcelain-white.

At least, Mihael THOUGHT it was a he. The stranger's voice was young and effeminate, and with the mask and baggy, white pajamas on, it was impossible to tell what gender it was. "…Who are you?" Mihael asked, turning to the stranger fully.

"Near. And you?" The porcelain boy asked.

"Mello." Mihael nodded. "Uhm…do you know where room B12 is?"

Near's pale lips curved up into something that creepily resembled a smile. "It's right next door to my room, B13. Follow me, please; I'll lead you there." He turned and stated to shuffle off, his steps so quiet Mihael couldn't hear them.

"Uhh…okay." Mihael nodded and followed him, his boots clicking on the floor as he walked. He couldn't help but notice that they were very different in appearance and presence. He walked with a strut, as if he owned the place, and Near shuffled along, like he didn't really have anywhere to go, or just wanted to go at his own pace to what he DID need to go to.

It was a little annoying how quiet the empty halls had gotten. "Hey, Near?" He stopped, frowning.

"Yes, Mello?" Near didn't turn to him, and kept walking.

"Why do we have to wear the masks? Whose idea was it?" Mihael picked up his pace so he didn't lag behind.

"I don't know. None of us do." Near said calmly, and then he turned to some stairs. "I do know that there is someone we must never anger, however." He started up the stairs.

"Oh? Who?"Mihael followed him up.

"He is known as 'L'. No one has ever seen him, not even in a mask among us." Near said calmly. "I've heard of two people that angered him, and one is dead while the other went insane and ran away."

"Wow, scary." Mihael frowned.

Near didn't answer and jut walked on until he stopped in front of a room. "This is B13. B12 is right there." He pointed to the room next to his and then unlocked his door, walking in. "I will see you later, Mello." He closed the door.

Mihael frowned and unlocked his room, walking in. When he got in, he found his bags already next to the bed, as well as a heart-shaped package. "The hell?"Mihael mumbled, closing the door and going over to examine the package. After a little bit of checking it for a name-tag and finding none, he opened it and blinked as he saw a nope taped to the heart-shaped box of chocolates. Frowning, he opened the note:

"_Dearest Mello, welcome to Whammy's House. I hope you enjoy your stay here, and I send you this gift in hopes we will meet sometime soon. _

_Signed, Elliot."_

"Huh." Mihael blinked and shrugged it off, opening the top and smiling as the smell and sight of chocolate met his senses. Chocolate, something he had always been fond of, had always been his comfort in a new place. Either "Elliot" was a lucky guesser, or he had a stalker.

Hm…

"Must be a lucky guess." He said, popping one of the candies into his mouth happily. "Thanks, Elliot!"

Over in the other room, Near quietly listened to him through the wall and frowned. 'We don't have any "Elliot"s here…' He thought, glancing at the wall again. 'What is Mello talking about?'

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And? So? Did you like it? Reviews are loved, please. ^-^ Reviews make me update!


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